How much difference would overclocking my Q6600 make in games?

[danilovrb47]

Okay, I want to overclock my Q6600, but before I can do that, I need to buy better cooling and better motherboard. I want to do this to get a better framerate in games. I would like to know how much difference would it make.
My current configuration:
CPU: Quad-Core Q6600 @ 2.4GHz overclocked to 2.9GHz with stock cooler
GPU: Radeon HD 7750 2GB DDR3
RAM: 2x2GB @ 800Mhz
MB: MSI MS-7529

I was doing some testing the other day and noticed that my system is giving lower performance than it should. Is some component bottlenecking others? What would be the smartest thing to do to slightly upgrade this configuration? (keep in mind that my budget is very limited ).

 

[ssddx]

what do you mean "lower than it should" ?

based on what benchmark?

if you are based on a web listed benchmark for your gpu.... you wont get those numbers likely as they use better (newer) components for the test.

if you mean that your system is not as a fast as it used to be... then what version of windows do you have, how full is your hdd and how much stuff do you have running in the background? a windows reinstall typically clears that up (windows xp got slower the longer it was left installed). basically it built up loads of junk files on it.

i dont think i would go out of the way to put alot of money into a cooler and a motherboard. depending on your budget you might be able to just get a newer cpu and newer motherboard and worth from there. even if you need to spend a little more... in the long run thats the cheaper option.

 

[danilovrb47]

what do you mean "lower than it should" ?

based on what benchmark?

if you are based on a web listed benchmark for your gpu.... you wont get those numbers likely as they use better (newer) components for the test.

if you mean that your system is not as a fast as it used to be... then what version of windows do you have, how full is your hdd and how much stuff do you have running in the background? a windows reinstall typically clears that up (windows xp got slower the longer it was left installed). basically it built up loads of junk files on it.

i dont think i would go out of the way to put alot of money into a cooler and a motherboard. depending on your budget you might be able to just get a newer cpu and newer motherboard and worth from there. even if you need to spend a little more... in the long run thats the cheaper option.

By "lower than it should" I meant that I think one component is bottlenecking others. My first guess was that my Q6600 is bottlenecking my GPU, and I was wondering would it be worth to overclock it a bit more (let's say 3.6GHz)? But to overclock it I would need better cooling than my current stock cooler, and I would need a motherboard suitable for overclocking.

 

[ssddx]

well the easiest way to tell would likely be to have windows task manager : performance.... or resource meter up and running with your games on windowed (but stretched to fit full screen exept taskbar so you can watch task manager at the same time).

what is being used at a very high percentage in releation to everything else?

what i see as potential things:

2x2gb ram. this leaves about 2gb available for use by the system after os. you might get better performance from adding another 2x2. some new games require more ram such as bf4.

q6600. this is an older cpu and while overclocking may get some extra life out of it buying a new motherboard and cooler will put at least $100 into the system. perhaps it would be more worthwhile to instead get a newer chip on a newer motherboard. in some games you are probably more gpu bound however in cpu intensive games or at lower resolutions you might be a bit gpu bound. overclocking can help a bit however for the price... its probably worth upgrading (as you're just putting off the inevitable and will spend more money in the long run by avoiding it)

7850. honestly its not that strong of a card. how does your system compare to benchmarks of the same games at the same settings?

-----------

run a few tests as i said and list the results.